Escape
by FalconPrincess
Summary: Set after the events of AoU, so major spoiler warning! Jillian is running from someone who wishes to control her powers, and when she meets Bruce, they are hesitant to let each other in. Do either of them have a chance at having a normal life? Focuses mainly on Bruce's new life and relationships. It's not as cheesy as it sounds, rated M just in case I get carried away.
1. Chapter 1

Bruce heaved himself on the shore, using the little strength he had left to get himself as far out of the water as he could. His arms gave out and he collapsed face first on the sand; huffing out a breath that spun the grains around his sagging eyelids. The sun beat down on his bare back and swirling colors appeared in his vision, blinding him to the beach around him.

"Hey!" a voice rang out. Was this person talking to him? He felt like he should at least acknowledge the voice, but at this point even moving his eyes was exhausting. The faint sound of feet padding on the sand near him grew louder until he felt a cool hand on his back.

"Hey, are you okay?" the voice said again, and when it received no answer from Bruce, "Somebody, get over here! We need some help!" He vaguely remembered being flipped onto his back, loaded onto what he guessed to be a stretcher, and having lights shined into his eyes. At that point, he couldn't even bother to squint, and before he knew it, he blacked out.

* * *

Bruce woke to a sharp pain in his forearm. He felt the Other Guy stir inside of him, but he pushed him down until he observed the room around him. A small woman was drawing a syringe out of his arm, and a lanky man stood next to her, jotting something down on a clipboard. Bruce blinked a couple of times to clear the burning in his eyes and cleared his throat.

"H-Hello?" he croaked. The woman pushed her glasses further up on her nose and smiled at him warmly; the corners of her eyes crinkling.

"Hey there, I'm Doctor Callaway and this is my assistant, Doctor Rodrigues. How are you feeling? Can you tell me your name?" her voice was soft, and the man behind her merely grunted in acknowledgement before scribbling more on his board.

"Um, Bruce. Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital here in Lautoka. Where are you from, Bruce?" she motioned to the man, causing him to write more on his clipboard.

"Lautoka? Where the hell is that?" Bruce sat up, only to be pushed back down by Dr. Callaway's small but firm hand. He was fighting the rising worry inside of him; the last thing he needed was an incident in a hospital.

"Sir, we're going to need you to calm down. Please, the last thing you need right now is to put more stress on your body."

"All due respect, but I don't think I can do that until you tell me where the hell I am."

"Bruce, you're in Fiji."

* * *

Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I know this chapter is short, but they'll get to be a better length starting with the next one. For some reason I always write really short first chapters... But anyways, thanks again, and I'll update soon! :) ~Kendall


	2. Chapter 2

Jillian woke to the sound of rain sprinkling on the skylight of her cabin. She lay tangled in her thin sheets, but managed to roll to her stomach to keep the sunlight out of her face. A cold nose pressed into the palm of her hand and she sighed.

"Five more minutes, Murphy, please." She groaned. The nose pushed her hand more insistently now, this time accompanied by a whimper and the thudding of a tail on the carpet floor. Jillian snatched her hand up and shoved it under her chest, hoping that the dog would get the hint. Instead, just seconds later, she felt Murphy jump up on the bed and start licking her face.

"Come on, Murph!" Jillian complained, throwing the covers off of her and hauling herself out of bed. She stomped to her back door and threw it open, letting the dog run outside. She disappeared into the trees surrounding the cabin and Jillian walked back inside to make herself and the dog some breakfast. She went to check her phone beforehand, even though she knew there would be nothing new on it, only Rob and Maria had her number and they only called when something really interesting was happening. Today was different, though: when she turned the screen on, she found a voicemail from Maria.

" _Hey, Jill! You'll never believe what just happened. Can't talk right now, but meet me at our usual at noon and I'll tell you all about it!_ " Maria's mousy voice sounded through Jillian's kitchen. She looked at the clock on her phone and switched into hyper drive. It was 11:30, and she had to eat, get dressed, and get all the way across town in half an hour.

She was almost finished scarfing down her cereal when she heard it: a roar so powerful that it shook the trees and even rattled some dishes in the cabinets. She stood there in her dining room wondering what could have made such a noise, gulping down the milk left over in the bowl, when it hit her, a single word that made her freeze where she stood: _Murphy._ She bolted for the back door and as soon as it was open, she was calling Murphy's name. What if that thing had hurt her? What would she do without that damn dog? Just when she began to think the worst, the little white dog pranced into view and Jillian heaved a sigh of relief. She crouched down in the grass and opened her arms, letting the small Pit Bull run to her. She hugged Murphy, and the dog rubbed against her, thumping her tail.

Since she was still a little rattled from the whole experience, Jill brought Murphy with her to the café where she was meeting Maria. She sat down with a smoothie and some water for the dog and waited. Maria, true to her nature, showed up fifteen minutes late, but immediately started gossiping about her crazy morning at the hospital.

"Okay, so first this weird guy shows up completely out of the blue," Maria slid her glasses higher up on her nose, "and he had like, no idea where he was. So I was like 'You're in Fiji' and I kid you not, he got so worked up that he jumped out the window. Out the freaking window, Jill! It was crazy! I've never been more scared in my life, no joke." Maria scratched Murphy behind her ears. This was typical of Maria; every time any weird patient shows up and goes crazy, it's all she can talk about for at least a day and a half, and every time she's "never been more scared in her life".

"So, what was the wackjob's name this time?" Jillian asked, lazily taking a sip of her smoothie. She never expected to recognize the name that Maria so casually spit out, but it was a name that she had heard many times back when she was playing lab rat at SHIELD.

"His name was Bruce. Bruce Banner."

* * *

Hello :) okay, so this chapter isn't much longer, so sorry about that, but I promise: bigger chapters soon! It's almost 1 am right now and I just finished this chapter, so I'll probably go back and embellish this one when I'm actually awake. I've been up since 5 this morning -_- Anyways, thanks for reading, I'd appreciate it if you left a review if you can, so thanks in advance! ~ Kendall :)


	3. Chapter 3

Maria only had an hour for lunch, so once they finished lunch, they decided to take a walk on the beach until she had to leave. The sun beat down, but a cool breeze kept it from being too hot, so they walked for as long as possible. Jill let Murphy off the leash so she could roam around and splash in the waves, but she made sure she kept a close eye on the dog. She picked up a few shells on their walk; only the ones that really caught her eye, like a bright green spiral, a blue and black scallop, and a bright red and orange conch. She had a small shelf in her room full of only the most beautiful shells that she found, and once she cleaned the sand off of them, these three would most likely end up on that shelf alongside the others.

When Maria had to leave, Jill decided that she and Murphy should probably start heading home as well. Before they did, however, she remembered that she needed to pick up some groceries, so the two of them hopped in Jill's truck and off they went. Thankfully this particular grocery store, because it was so close to the beach, was okay with dogs, so Jill hooked Murphy up to her leash and went inside. She headed straight for the pet aisle to pick up some treats to keep the dog occupied and out of any food that she was picking up. The leash hung loosely from her wrist as she wandered down the aisles, picking up whatever odds and ends she needed and occasionally handing Murphy small chunks of the liver treats that she was buying. Jill had always hated liver, but it was one of the dog's favorite treats, so she sucked it up and just washed her hands as soon as she was finished with them.

As Jill was contemplating whether she should get Lucky Charms or Fruity Pebbles, she noticed a man in the next aisle over hunched over; his dark, curly hair sticking out of a brown baseball cap. Murphy seemed to notice him too, and no matter how hard Jill tried, she couldn't keep the dog from running to him. She saw her knock into the man's legs, nearly bowling him over; her tail hitting things off of the shelves behind her as she desperately tried to get the man to pet her. Jill followed the dog as quickly as possible, apologizing to the man all the way there until she grabbed a hold of the dog's collar.

"I'm so sorry, she got away from me and I-" she looked up at the man's face and stopped. His face looked rough, like he had been through a lot in the past few days. He had dark bags under his soft brown eyes, and stubble dotted his chin.

"No, it's okay, she's fine" he muttered, offering a small smile. Jill could see a hint of fear in his eyes, and suddenly, she was back:

* * *

 _The room was dark, save the low blue glow from the screen next to her bed, and a high pitched beep echoed throughout the room, signaling her heart rate. Jill pulled with what little strength she had against the restraints around her wrists and ankles, but they wouldn't budge. She had been in this place for weeks, and every day these people were coming up with something new to torture her with. She heard the door swing open and clenched her jaw, mentally preparing herself for what was coming._

 _"Hello, Jillian." A man greeted her dryly. Jill completely ignored him, instead just staring straight up at the ceiling. The man scoffed at her and stuck a needle in her upper arm. Jill hissed at the pain and the man chuckled._

 _"Maybe, just maybe, Jill, if you weren't such a bitch, I wouldn't have to be so mean to you. But then again, where would be the fun in that?"_

 _By the end of his sentence, Jill was already slipping out of consciousness. She felt so defenseless without the use of her powers, but she thanked her lucky stars that she would be out for whatever procedure they were going to try this time._

* * *

She was still shaking by the time she made her way to the car. She had gone as quickly out of the store as possible without making a scene; collecting her dog and paying for her things without saying a word. As she sat in the driver's seat, she clutched the wheel until her knuckles turned white and tears ran down her face. Murphy came up to the passenger seat and started licking her face, which helped Jill calm down a little. She laughed at the dog, and after she felt okay enough to drive, buckled in and drove home as fast as she could.


End file.
